Iron Maiden took time to eulogize late former vocalist Paul Di'Anno during a live performance Tuesday evening.
During the metal icons' concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, last night, Bruce Dickinson addressed the crowd prior to performing "The Time Machine."
"Our band member Paul Di'Anno passed away, as you are probably aware," Dickinson said [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. "And if you're not aware of that fact, you are now. Paul was instrumental in the first two [Iron Maiden] albums, groundbreaking with Killers and the first album. An amazing voice, devoted to rock and roll right up till the last minute of his life."
He continued: "So… for those of you who were born and still remember those early albums, when obviously I wasn't in the band and he was, and those of you who were fans of the stuff he did with Battlezone and his own projects afterwards, and for anybody else that fancies having a listen to tracks like 'Remember Tomorrow' and stuff like that, which are absolutely awesome, I'm just gonna ask everybody to just take like a few seconds to just close your eyes in silence and say, just internally, mentally — if you believe in God, if you don't believe in God, it actually doesn't matter; just believe in what you believe in and just say, 'Thanks, boss, for doing what you did.'"
Dickinson concluded: "So, Paul, if you're listening, this is a little message from Minneapolis to wherever you are, upstairs or downstairs, Minneapolis, for Paul Di'Anno, scream for me."
You can watch Dickinson's tribute below. It was announced earlier this week that Di'Anno had passed away at the age of 66.
Iron Maiden also shared a statement on Di'Anno's passing via social media, writing, "We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di'Anno earlier today. Paul's contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world."
Iron Maiden's ongoing fall North American tour comes to Canada next week, with stops set for Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal.